Suldaan Said Ahmed (born 12 February 1993) is a Finnish politician who is a member of the

Helsinki City Council The City Council of Helsinki ( , ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's members ...

for the Left Alliance. Said Ahmed served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament for Helsinki from September 2021 to April 2023, and is the first

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

n-born member of the Finnish parliament. In July 2022, Said Ahmed was appointed Finland's

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

' Special Representative on Peace Mediation in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. Since April 2023, he has also been a member of the Peace Mediation Roster of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 23 January 2024, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen appointed Suldaan Said Ahmed as her Special Envoy on Peace Mediation in the Horn of Africa. https://um.fi/current-affairs/-/asset_publisher/gc654PySnjTX/content/suldaan-said-ahmed-ulkoministerin-rauhanvalityksen-erityisedustajaksi-afrikan-sarven-alueelle-1

Life and career

Said Ahmed was born in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

and immigrated to Finland in 2008 through

family reunification Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to ...

. He lived in

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti (; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an ar ...

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

, and moved to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 2011. Said Ahmed has a

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...

education and has also worked as a community worker for the Helsinki Deaconess Foundation. Said Ahmed was elected to the Helsinki City Council in the 2017

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

and re-elected in 2021. In the 2019

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Said Ahmed became a vice deputy. As the MP Paavo Arhinmäki was selected the Helsinki Deputy Mayor, Said Ahmed took his place in September 2021. He was not reelected in the 2023 parliamentary election.

Family

Suldaan Said Ahmed is the brother of the footballers Ahmed Said Ahmed and Abdulkadir Said Ahmed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Said Ahmed, Suldaan 1993 births Politicians from Mogadishu Finnish people of Somali descent Somalian emigrants to Finland Politicians from Helsinki Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023) Left Alliance (Finland) politicians Living people